Cotton-gin.



No. 844,442. I PATENTEDFBB. 19, 1907. L. DAVID.

COTTON GIN.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1906.

Quuenl'oz rue: Nmmis PETERS ca, WA$HFNGTON a a.

LOUIS DAVID, or MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA.

COTTON-GIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1907.

Application filed September 14, 1906. Serial No. 334,652.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS DAVID, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and resident of Mont omery, county of Montgomery, State of Aabama, have invented certain transversely through the ginning-floor;Fig.

3, a vertical section taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig.2, and Pig. 4 a hori zontal section taken through the apparatus at apoint above the ginning-floor.

The object of this invention is to provide an extremely sim lecotton-ginning apparatus which avoids t e necessity of the employment ofsaws and which provides instead of saws simple insane for removing thefiber from the seeds in such manner that it shall not be injured in theleast and with as much expedition as is secured with the usual sawdevices, as more fully hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the drawings annexed by reference characters, A designatesa casing having a hopper a in its to a seed-discharge slot at at itsrear end, am a discharge-slot a at one side for the discharge of thelint-cotton. Across the casing at a suitable point below the top thereofis su ported a sort of floor composed of a series of small steel rods orshafts B, arranged closely together and preferably in loose contact witheach other. These rods or shafts are rotated by pinions b, one of whichis aflixed to each shaft, and a pair of rack-bars C, provided with teethon their under sides which engage said pinions.

Each shaft or rod B is provided with one inion at one end outside of thevertical side iioards C of the ginning-chamber, and these pinions arealternately arranged that is, the adjacent shafts carry the pinions atopposite ends, so that simultaneous reciprocation of the rack-bar inopposite directions will rotate each pair of adjacent shafts in 0ppositedirections-first in one direction and then, when the rack-bars reverse,in the other direction. In order that the inions at each side shall notinterfere wit each other, they are arranged in two rows, and therack-bar is made wide enough to engage both rows of pinions.

The rack-bars are guided back and forth by a crank-shaft D, driven by abelt-pulley d and having oppositely-arranged cranks, which are connectedby a pitir an 0 to arms 0 of cranks journaled in the casing, the innerarnis c of these cranks bring connected by links a to the respectiverack-bars. In this way the rotation of the crank-shaft willsimultaneously and alternately reciprocate the rack-bars in oppositedirections. The parts may of course be made adjustable to regulate thenumber of turns of the shafts B each reciprocation of the rackbars shallaccomplish, so that the irachine may be adjusted as nearly as possibleto the length of staple being ginned.

1t will be observed that the rods or shafts form a sort of ginning flooror surface which, when the adjacent pairs of rods are rotated inopposite directions, as described, will serve to pull the fiber awayfrom the seeds, the fiber being drawn down between the rods and the seedbeing left clean on top of the floor. The floor is preferably inclinedslightly downwardly toward the seed-discharge a to facilitate thedischarge of the seed. The rods are shown as smooth, but it will beunderstood that they may be provided with slight spiral ribs or grooves,if desired. It is preferable that the rods shall normally lie loosely incontact and that they shall have sullicient elasticity to spreadslightly when the fiber is drawn down between them. Of course the rodsshould be sufficiently rigid to grasp the staple with a sullicientclamping action to readily pull it off the seeds and without permittingthe seeds to follow the staple down between. the rods. It will thus beobserved that all injury to the iibcr is avoided, as likewise is theemployment of saws, which not only tear the fiber but require to be hequently gumlned or sharpened.

To blow out the lint-cotton, a suitable blowing apparatus is provided. Ihave shown and I prefer a series of blowers H, arranged to dischargeinto the casing underneath the deflecting-board G, these blowers beingsimultaneously driven from a beltwheel d on the crank-shaf t.

It is believed that the rods should be slightly smaller in diameter thanthe averagesized seed that is, about thrcc-sixtccnths inch in diameterinorder that the lint shall be taken off close to the seed and leave theseed bare and free to roll down the floor to the seed-discharge. As tothe length of rod,

by suitable rollers E, and they are actuated it is thought that a lengthof ten inches will prove the best, in that it will give the necessaryrigidity and yet allow the necessary elasticity. It will be observedthat while but a small quantity of lint will be pulled down between anypair of rods the product of the entire separating-floor will beconsiderable. It will be observed also that in addition to spirallygrooving or ribbin the rods they may be notched or ICCGSSQL at intervalsto furnish additional spaces between the rods for the passage of smallquantities of the lint, and thereby avoid unduly spreading the rods.

I am aware of the patent to Willey, No. 8,907, of April 27, 1852, inwhich a pair of elastic-faced rollers is employed to feed sced cottoninto a chamber in which a fan-like device rotates, this device carryingalternate brushes of bristles and heaters of leather, the brushes actingfirst to comb out the cotton, which is held by the rollers, and theleather heaters serving to knock off the seeds, the cotton-seed thusseparated being driven over a screen, which serves to separate the seedfrom the lint-cotton. My invention is distinguished from this apparatusby the fact that I employ numerous small rods arranged approximately incontact and lying in the same plane, and thus constituting a gii'iningfloor or surface, means being provided to rotate adjacent pairs of therods or shafts in opposite directions, so that the lint will beseparated from the seed in numerous small increments, leaving the seedupon the upper surface of the floor free of lint.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. I11 a ginning apparatus, the combination of a series ofclosely-spaced rods or shafts tion of a series of closely-spaced rods orshafts, and mechanism for rotating adjacent pairs of these rods orshafts alternately in opposite directions, whereby each rod will firstcooperate with the rod at one side and then cooperate with the rod atthe other side and so on, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a ginning apparatus, a ginning floor or surface consisting of aseries of closelyspaced comparatively small flexible rods, and means foralternately rotating each adjacent pair of rods in opposite directionsso that each rod will first cooperate with the rod at one side and thenwith the rod at the other side of it, substantially as set forth.

3. In a ginning apparatus, ginning means consisting of a series ofclosely-spaced rods, a pinion on one end of each red, the pinions oneach adjacent pair of rods being arranged at opposite ends of the rodsand the pinions at each side being arranged in a double row so thatadjacent pinions shall be out of line with each other, a rack-bar foreach double row of pinions, and means for reciprocating said rack-barsimultaneously in opposite directions.

4-. In a ginning apparatus, a casing, a ginhing-floor inclining toward aseed-discharge and comprising a plurality of pairs of small rodscontacting with each other and having bearings at their opposite ends,means for rotating adjacent pairs of these rods in opposite directionsto draw the lint down from the seeds and discharge it into thelint-chamber below, a guard or deflector upon which the lint-cottonfalls, and a pneumatic discharging means below this deflector.

5. In a ginning apparatus, ginning means consisting of a floorcomprising a plurality of pairs of small elastic rods having theirperipheries in contact, and means for rotating the rods, for the purposeset forth.

6. In a ginning apparatus, ginning means consisting of a plurality ofpairs of small rods or shafts arranged close together in parallelism andin the same plane, to thus constitute a ginning-floor, and means forrotating adjacent pairs of the rods in opposite directions, for thepurpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence oftwo witnesses, this 30th day of August, 1906.

LOUIS DAVID.

Witnesses:

W. H. GARTH, mus CHANDLER.

